Sponsor aboard

Some great news - the bicycle shop through which most of my cycling dollar passes, has agreed to sponsor me in equipment for the ride. Mr. Bo Peele at Performance Bicycle was instrumental in acquiring some basic necessities for my journey. I want to express a heartfelt thanks to an organization who, in a year of my patronage, has never steered me wrong. If there is a Performance Bicycle Shop in your neck of the woods, check them out - it's worth your time.

Lazy weekend

Woke up this morning to awful news about a cyclist in Boulder, Colo. who was killed by a sleeping motorist. This just reminds me that no matter how aware I am, I cannot be responsible for everyone sharing the road.

Didn't get out on the bike at all this weekend, as we had lots of nasty weather. The weather outlook is good for the next two days, and I will ride regardless of weather. Friday morning I leave for my final 'automobile' trip to Dallas before the ride. I'm going to attempt to cover the exact route the bicycle trip will follow, which is always fun - to see new parts of the World.

A foggy day

This morning's commute reminded me of November in Santa Cruz, on the Monterey Bay. Chilly, cloudy, a little foggy, and more humidity than normal. The promise of a warm afternoon gets me out the door. No traffic, headwind, and safely to work. Nothing can ruin a day where I get up, draw a breath and ride my bike. I consider myself fortunate.

$100, the hard way

So every once in a while my Inbox is graced with enough temptation to make me spend my lunch hour debating on whether or not to spend $100.00 I may or may not have. Truth be told, it is usually $100.00 I have, but could put to better use elsewhere in my budget.

I'm talking of course about bicycle-related sales.

Twenty percent off of already marked down items is enough to make me wonder if they invent stuff for bikes just to part me with my hard-earned money! I don't believe in this conspiracy, because everything I've ever purchased for my bike riding addiction, I've used. There was a time several years ago where I rode the same bike with the same tires, same brakes, same adjustments and never did anything but put air in the tires. Those days are over as I now realize that 150 miles a week means that a bicycle is not a toy.

Guess where I'm spending lunch? That's right, at Target, because no one ever walks in there for a greeting card and walks out having spent $100.00.

I scoff at your inferior driving skills

Without going into too much detail and with far less cursing than I'd like to use, this morning's commute to work was a roller coaster ride through the Hall of Fame of bad drivers. This is not just because I was on a bicycle; if I were in a car, there would have been a full house of scowling and frowning. Suffice it to say that I survive a commute to work each day only because I pay close attention. You really have to put some effort into it if you want to get me off the road.

Rotten scoundrels. Learn how to drive.

And that's all I have to say about that.

Golf clap

No bike riding this weekend as it was time to participate in a semi-annual golf tournament. The B.J. Greater Loader Open (Hollydot GC, Colorado City, Colo.) is a tournament which has been played twice a year for 22 years now (I'm only in my fourth) and involves a LOT of debauchery. It is the tournament which, a year ago, brought me to terms with my own mortality. The excess was enough to make me quit drinking and smoking, and is what got me back on the bicycle, so in a roundabout way, the partying is directly responsible for this trip I'm about to embark upon.

For some odd reason I can ride a bicycle until the end of time, but two days of golfing just sucks the energy out of me and leaves my body sore and my ego bruised. At least I fixed my slice - all that remains now id my fairway woods, my short game to some extent and my putting game. Aside from that, I'm a decent golfer :-D

More on the golf over at The Ronkainen Project.

Stuff is here

The official logo of The Trip 2005 has been revealed (to your left). This logo shall adorn the front of t-shirts and cycling jerseys during The Trip itself. Pledges of $100 or more, whether in a lump sum or by the mile (see the MISSION STATEMENT for more information), will receive a white t-shirt and orange wristband (sample here - WHEELDEAL 2005 debossed) to show their contribution to helping eradicate Parkinson's Disease. At the moment, t-shirts are in production and wristbands are only being sold locally. If you'd really like a wristband, e-mail me and we can coordinate from there.

Meteorology 101

Staggering into the kitchen, I wonder if I'm still dreaming. My television goes on automatically at 4:55 am so I can save my energy hitting the power button on the clicker once I'm awake.

"Currently at the airport we have 64º, and on the north end of town it's a chilly 58º."

I pause, turn the teapot on and wander into the living room, intrigued. The television screen corroborated what ol' Marty was saying. My eyes lit up, and any lingering sign of sleep dissipated immediately.

This would be the first morning in almost six months where I didn't have to wear my winter cycling gear. I had cleaned Elke the previous evening as last week's wet weather had made for a messy ride, and was looking very forward to this morning's jaunt. The ride did not disappoint, even though I hit an inordinate number of red lights (there was no traffic) and was greeted by a headwind most of the way. I only wish I lived further away from work!

Mapping it all out

In planning for The Trip 2005, I have encountered many helpful people every step of the way. In today's mail, I received my Texas Travel Kit, including a very decent road map, which brings my compliment of road maps up to five. I'm not worried about getting lost :-)

Although the temperature today was 75º and partly cloudy, I opted to drive to work. Golfing Sunday morning really took it out of me as I have not used those muscles in a year. Planning on riding 120 miles the rest of the week. Expecting the wristbands tomorrow - as soon as those become available, I will make it prominent on this site. Remember, pledges of $100 or more receive a t-shirt and wristband, or wristbands can be purchased for $3.00/each.

Cleaned the bike up tonight so I could photograph her in all her glory for postage on the BikeForums.net website. Looking forward to four days of hardcore riding this week.

A great experience

Day off from riding today. Will resume tomorrow.

It has been said that if one has a good experience, one will tell one other about it. If the experience is bad, it will grow twenty-seven-fold. Here is the (brief) tale of my good experience.

The company to which most of my bicycle-related spending is funnelled toward could be known as a conglomerate. They own several other bicycling equipment/supply companies, and they are in many states across the nation. Sort of like the Wal-Mart of bicycles, you would think.

Ever since resuming my hardcore love affair with cycling, all of the sudden I cannot wait for the next catalogue to arrive in the mail. When it does, I read through every page to see if what I need (and often what I want) is on sale. One would expect a company with an economy of scale this vital would lead to the classic American business model: Sell stuff cheap, offer substandard support and customer service.

Quite the opposite.

Every experience I've had online, over the phone, at the retail store - all 1,000% positive. Performance Bicycle even responded favorably in a timely fashion to my request for sponsorship on The Trip 2005.

I purchased a helmet from the catalogue the other day, and since I'm a Team Performance member ($20.00/yr), I get 2nd day delivery. They had my order out the door half an hour after I placed it (I had called back to add something to the order, but it was too late). After test-riding it yesterday, I determined it was not a good fit. They asked me to send it back to them, along with a very clear and detailed form which is provided on the back of the invoice, and they would replace it with another model (free of shipping) or refund my money. On the same order, I had requested two pairs of disc brake replacement pads and they sent me only one. They are shipping the second pair free, even though the invoice showed the correct number of items shipped.

Wow. Customer Service is alive and well in America.

Three is a magic number

Cold this morning, but bearable. Gators and leg warmers make the ride much easier to bear. This is the first three-in-a-row week of the season, and feeling great. Feels good not to be putting gas into my cars. Left my Accelerade at home in the fridge. This is a bummer because leaving my house at 6:00 am on a quarter-mile steep incline does not make me want to cruise back down the same incline only go right back up. I need some long-sleeved jerseys (and a better memory)...

Pledges and Sponsors

As of yesterday, I have my first personal pledger, and a corporate sponsor. More will be published about the corporate sponsor as soon as it is clear what will be offered. I want to give them as much good press as possible!

Training is coming along nicely, and I've decided the only two things that can stop me from training are sub-freezing temperatures and hail.

That is all.